Takes Two To Tango
by topaz addiction
Summary: AH/AU Bella - rude, careless and a little loose in her morals - gets pregnant unexpectedly and leaves Forks to live with her Mother in Jacksonville. There she meets golden boy, Edward Cullen, who is more like her than she thinks. M for sexual themes.
1. Congratulations, Bella, Your Life Sucks

Uhm, new fan fiction? (This one is written by Stephanie (After Jacob's First Love & Playing For Keeps) for all you who are confused)

I guess it's a part of a dream I had? And why does Edward always have to be the bad one that is loose in his sexual morals? Huh? Why doesn't Bella get in on the action? This is why I began this I guess. I guess it was also to motivate me to to get passed my insane writer's block in regards to After Jacob's First Love. Don't worry - a new chapter will be up ASAP.

For now, enjoy this.

Woohoo.

p.s. don't get mad at me for making Bella smoke. It just had to be.

Review. Tell me if I should continue or not.

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BPOV

_Inhale. Breath. Inhale. Exhale. _

Oh God. This can't be happening.

_Inhale. Exhale._

"_I need something else, would someone please just give me? Hit me, knock me out and let me go back to sleep." _

I could hear the music coming from my stereo into the pathetic excuse for a bathroom that Charlie and I shared. These walls are too thin.

"_I'll be just fine, pretending I'm not. I'm far from lonely it's all that I've got." _

I could feel the rain blowing through the opened window. I didn't even know why I was bothering; the weed wasn't doing anything to calm my fucking nerves anyway.

"_I squoze so hard I stopped your heart from beating. So deep that I didn't even scream fuck me." _

Good fucking God. Someone needs to turn this song off before I tear all my hair out with my free hand. Leave it to my iPod to pick the best fucking song to play in this situation. I still couldn't believe it was happening.

Seventeen; his age, my age, the number of days it took for me to realize my period was late, and the amount of times it took us being stupid and having careless sex before it came to this point. Seventeen was obviously my unlucky number.

I could hear the little beep on the plastic tube go. I knew I had to look, but it was as if my head was frozen in place, eyes glued to the almost-dead joint. I took my last hit and another deep breath.

_Inhale. Exhale. _

I counted down from three and glanced to the fifth little stick of death that I had just urinated on and waited for, humiliated, sitting there on the toilet, shorts still in a pool at my ankles and a joint in my hand.

"Fuck!" I shouted out loud. I never imagined that seeing a little '+' that many times made me want to throw myself off a cliff as much as it did right then.

I decided to take the best route and not believe those tests. Maybe I'd get lucky and fall down the stairs just incase, knowing me that wouldn't take long. I did not want to have to think about this any longer, I really wished that it had all been a dream, but unless I had dreamt the seventeen times since Spring Break that Jacob Black got himself into my pants, I was fucked.

I decided to walk the two miles to school that morning, it had been raining, and rain leaves the road slippery, meaning I was just setting myself up for disaster. Charlie had questioned what I was doing but I quickly came back with the excuse that I needed exercise; I was turning over a new leaf. He laughed. I guess I should have rethought my excuse because I only lasted until I was halfway down the driveway before I had to stop and light a cigarette.

It was still drizzling outside and I began silently cursing myself for not driving, but I only reminded myself that it would be more likely for me to fall rather than getting in a near-fatal car accident. Before I knew it I had arrived at sweet, old Forks High, not even coming so close as to tripping the entire way there. If there was a God, he was a crafty motherfucker, and he was not being nice to me. If that girl in my math class brought up that 'God Loves You' shit again, she better be prepared to fail. I was on a rampage today. Bella Swan was not to be fucked with.

I finished my last cigarette quicker than usual and began my trek to math, otherwise, more commonly known as Failure 101. I shrugged out of my sopping wet jacket and hung it on the hook, two minutes late. Not bad. Mr. Whatever-the-fuck-his-name-is greeted me with a grunt from the chalkboard; he was in a good mood. Yes, it's May of senior year and I still don't know his name. Sometimes, if he was in a particularly peachy mood he would single me out from the back of the class and ask me a question. He would then wait until I addressed him by name – regardless of if I actually knew the answer – I would then proceed to get a detention slip. I had so many of those I could plaster my fucking walls with the little pink notes that said 'Disrespectful Behavior.' Maybe he was secretly in love with me and it turned him on to lecture me on proper classroom conduct. Teachers at this school were fucked like that.

Nevertheless I went silently to the back of the room, directly behind Jessica Stanley – the greatest thing to ever happen to me since coming to Forks. She was loud, obnoxious, a little too loose in her sexual morals and down right psychotic – but I loved the shit out of her.

"Morning, Juno." She greeted out loud. I felt my chest collapse as I sat down slowly in my desk, not saying anything back until she turned around to face me. She must have noticed my anxiety, but mistook it for confusion, and explained herself. "Your shirt?" She said pointing at my chest. I looked down only to notice I had put on my orange and white striped t-shirt. I needed to be fucking committed.

After a long discussion on how exciting quadratic functions were and how we were never going to use it in the real world but we have to learn it anyway, math was over. Time flew through art and English – my two saviors of the day – and I found myself back out in the west end of the parking lot, teamed with Jessica, Tyler Crowley and Mike Newton. Jessica took out her Marlboro's and offered me one, noticing that I hadn't lit up yet. She was the only one of us that didn't smoke the reserves. Instead she dished out more money than healthy on a weekly basis to by her precious Marlboro's. I had always questioned where she was getting the money from, as her parents weren't exactly the richest folks on the planet and she was fired from the Seven 11 in January for coming in still drunk after New Years. That, no matter how fucked up I was, was not something I wanted to know the answer to.

"Dude, you were fucking hammered!" Tyler was arguing with Mike about something that happened at the last reserve party. "They need to have one of those bonfires again, man, it was awesome. No cops or anything." I knew that was a shot at me, Charlie always proceeded to break up the parties that we threw within the limits of Forks. I had been taken home in that cruiser along with Jessica, sloshed, one too many times.

"I was NOT hammered, Tyler, YOU were. And yes, I agree they need to have one again." I knew Mike was right but I wasn't prepared to get into the middle of this battle.

"I don't think so man." Tyler fought, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Bella, you need to come to this one. You have no idea how fucking fun they are."

"I _was_ there, Tyler." I said, letting the beautiful Marlboro burn in my hand. I had only taken two drags and everyone was already taking out their seconds, and in Jessica's case, her third.

"Fuck? I didn't see you. What were you doing?" Tyler was taken aback. I knew why he didn't see me but I just shrugged my shoulders. That was one night of many that I didn't want to be thinking about right now, for a few reasons.

"More like, who was she doing?" Jessica chuckled, disguising a dainty cough. "She was with Jacob all night."

"That native kid?" Mike asked; his face resembled that of a lost puppy. I was considering just letting him fuck me once to get whatever he has for me out of his system, but that was Jessica's territory. Unlike her, I did have some morals somewhere. She even begged me to fuck him once just so he would stop saying _my name_ when he was fucking her. Now, being told _that_, in front of the entire adolescent population of Forks at a party in which Jessica was so drunk she ended up blacking out, was humiliating.

Tyler burst out laughing, "Where did you go? We were in a fucking forest, Bella!" I shot him a look that I was hoping would melt his flesh – no such luck. They all continued to laugh.

I remember the night clearer than I should have considering the amount of alcohol I consumed. I had found myself another beer in the cooler and I was just about to turn back to where Jessica and everyone was standing when I ran straight into Jacob Black, with that big, goofy grin plastered on his face. Before I knew it he had taken me deeper into the forest and we began fooling around, drunk, as per usual. In no time I was pushed up against a tree, sans pants, straddling Jake. _You fucked him against a tree Bella; how classy. _I just couldn't help myself; I had this thing for long hair and guys that look as if they could break every bone in my body with one hand. A psychiatrist would have a field day with me sitting in their patients' chair.

As I began thinking about it more, I realized that that night could have been when my little problem sprouted, but then again, it could have also been the two weekends prior to that as well. Needless to say, I never thought a condom was important – actually – I never thought of condoms period. Whenever I was with Jake everything just _happened_. Even thought I couldn't pinpoint exactly when it happened, I knew for certain it was Jake's – it had to be. He was the only person I had ever had sex with without a condom. I guess I was in that 2% bracket that birth control decides not to work for. And to think I laughed at Bristol Palin's "If it happened to me it can happen to you" and "The only way to prevent it is abstinence" speech last week. I had to laugh, this _would_ happen to me.

It was decided, I was the new poster child for .


	2. The Joys Of Collective Intoxicants

Definitely apologize for the mistake at the end of the first chapter. It was supposed to say

"It's been decided, I am the new poster child for Fuck My Life." FanFiction took it off because you can't post full links with *.com* at the end of it for some reason? But I was implying the actual website – if you haven't viewed it before, GO. NOW. It's epic.

I also didn't state my references at the beginning of chapter one so I might as well do it here…

*Ahem*

I do not own any of S. Meyer's beautiful characters; I just jazz them up a bit by making them troubled and skanky. Whatevs.

And I also don't own the lyrics to the song "All That I've Got" that I referenced at the beginning of chapter one… The Used does…

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After lasting one full week without murdering someone, the coming of Friday was more of a relief than anything else in the world… besides my period, but THAT wasn't happening according to Clear Blue, First Response, Early Bird, Numark and several more of the local drug store's trusted brands of fucking pregnancy tests. Fuck. My. Life.

Nevertheless, I began my trench home in the miserable monsoon that has decided to overtake Forks. I had decided to walk all week, arousing more suspicion from Charlie. He had guessed everything from not having gas, to thinking that I had managed to destroy something on the truck he bought me. _The truck that Jacob Black rebuilt from scratch. _I cringed at the thought of seeing him again. Maybe that's why I was being repelled from the use of my truck. I, however, was absolutely positive Charlie was not going to guess that I was pregnant and walking to and from school, hoping and praying to that crafty, motherfucking, baby Jesus that I would fall down and Jacob Black's demon sperm will plop out of my vagina and I would be back to normal – but you never know, right? I had also been absolutely positive that I was not going to get pregnant in the first place, so you can never trust my judgment. It was decided – and I even stopped dead in my tracks, in the pouring rain, to swear this silent oath to myself – that I was to do the exact opposite of my immediate judgment from here on in.

I spent the evening doing the regular; cleaning, cooking, and all other 'c' activities… okay, maybe _not _cock sucking or cunt stabbing but you get the idea.

Just as I was about to turn in for a quiet night wallowing in self pity I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I answered without checking the caller i.d. and I regretted that decision as soon as I heard Jessica's squeaky voice shouting, "Get you're fucking party pants on my extra special Barbie Swan Princess, we'll be outside in the Shaggin' Wagon in five."

*Click*

That bitch didn't even give me time to protest, so I really didn't have another option. I stood in front of my closet, thinking to myself that Jessica Stanley's idea of 'party pants' resembled that of the 'birthday suit' so instead, living up to my oath and doing the opposite of my original judgment, I put on a pair of ripped jeans, a black tank top and a blue sweater. Within five, just on schedule, the Shaggin' Wagon jerked up in front of my house and I silently thanked whatever God that was on Team Bella that Charlie wasn't home. I was yanked inside by Jessica and Tyler was down the road before we even managed to get the sliding door closed.

"Dude, can't we start calling it like the Pussy Wagon, or something?" Tyler whined over the loud music coming from the stereo. The speakers shook and rasped at every note of bass – this thing was falling apart.

"Tyler, I would bet serious Marlboro's that you haven't been able to lure one, half-decent looking chick into the back of this thing." Jessica shouted as she took a hit from the pipe that I just noticed she had. That shit smelled like fucking heaven.

"Well, you're back there, Jessica so I wouldn't be talking if I were you." Tyler shot back as he sped through the slick, tree-lined roads. I had no idea where we were going but I was thankful that the monsoon that I walked home in had since ceased.

"Tyler, Jessica doesn't count. She'll climb into the back of anything, whether the guy offered her candy or not." Mike mocked.

"As long as it's not you, asshole!" Jessica fought back. I was perfectly content staying out of this conversation and just laughing along with everyone else. I had always been the quieter one out of the bunch. I said what needed to be said when it needed to be said but other than those few instances, I generally remained neutral, like Switzerland.

Tyler slowed as we reached a narrow, gravel road that lead to blackness with the exception of a car that we had followed into the same driveway. I hadn't even been able to keep track of where we were due to the fact that the back of Tyler's van has no seats, causing Jessica and I to sit on the dingy, orange shag carpet that Tyler installed to 'make is conquests more comfortable' in his terms. Personally, it was enough to make anyone with any amount of morals to cringe in disgust. Jessica, however, was an exception. She _would _climb into the back of anything.

We came to a stop and I sat up to get a view of where we were. The moment my eyes met a large, flickering orange flame, my stomach dropped. We were on the reserve and if I looked to the left slightly I would find somewhat of a path that would lead to a tree where I was possibly sperminated. Fabulous. Just. Fucking. Fabulous.

Jessica handed me the pipe just as we were about to exist the van. _Breathe that sweet, magical Mary Jane Bella, you're in for a roller coaster ride. _I never did like amusement parks.

We waded through the hoards of people that surrounded the bonfire – there were definitely more people there than last time. I stayed firmly behind Jessica, weaving through the crowd keeping a tight hold of her hand, keeping my eyes glued to my feet. Tyler and Mike were somewhere behind us. I didn't see Jake the few times I looked up at the faces of the people I was passing, nor did I see his shoes so I felt a wave of relief. I knew, however, that he would eventually make an appearance, I mean, seriously, he did live on the reservation.

I was handed a beer immediately upon finding the rest of our group. Lauren Anthony, Ben Cheney and his goody-two-shoes-I-never-say-a-fucking-word girlfriend Angela – she must be some closet sex fiend, otherwise I had no idea why they were together – were there among others. Even though I was hidden in the crowd by Mike and Tyler, I wasn't at ease. I didn't know why I was so worried, I mean come on, and it's Jake, right? It's not like I have known him since I was two or anything. Or maybe it was because I was carrying his bastard child. _Oh hey Jake, before you take my fucking pants off I should let you know that I am pregnant, with your child, so that gives you the green light to blow your load as many fucking times as you want, jackass. _What a line. I wish I had the guts to use it out loud.

I couldn't figure out why I was mad at _him_, I mean, it takes two to tango right? This was 50% my fault.

"Bella!" Who's fucking interrupting my thoughts now? I was having a good ol' heart to brain conversation. "Do you want another one?" It was Jessica and she was shaking her empty beer bottle. I looked down only to realize that I hadn't even taken a sip of mine. I realized that I really shouldn't be drinking but I remembered my secret vow to myself and did otherwise. I took a good, long swig of the sweet liquid and it immediately made my throat buzz with pleasure. Oh, the joy of collective intoxicants.

I shook my head and told her that I was almost finished. I expertly timed myself to finish my beer at the same time Mike did so I didn't have to leave the shelter of the group to get another one. I knew for a fact that Mike would be more than happy to get me another. When he came back with two beers I was quite relieved; I had missed the heavenly taste for the 56 seconds I went without it. I then decided that it was a good fucking time for a cigarette as well. The moment I lit up I was in pure bliss – taste that sweet cancer, Bella, breathe it in. I love my life. Well, for the most part.

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Some time passed and I could feel my inhibitions slipping away. My voice was increasing in volume and my hips began swaying to the beat of whatever song was playing at the time. Mike handed me my sixth, wait seventh, who fucking cares, he handed me another beer. Jessica was already trashed and looking out for her next victim.

"Come here Bella!" Jessica slurred as she tripped over to me, grabbing my hand. "You have to come see this guy! He's fucking sexy as hell!"

"Okay!" I shouted a little too happily and, without even thinking, I left the shelter of the group to go see Jessica's one-night-love. We, a little too conspicuously, made our way over to the kegs and coolers to get a good look at the crowd. She turned towards me and nodded her head behind her to a group of guys who were obviously from the reservation. If their copper skin and long, silky black hair wasn't enough to give it away, their size was. Kids from the reserve seemed infinitely bigger than the ones from La Push, maybe it was something in the water. It wasn't until I took a closer look that I realized I knew them. I immediately panicked. They were Jacob's friends.

And before I knew it, Jacob Black was making his way over to me. With that fucking big, goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Bella! You're here!" He said, taking me into a big bear hug. He had been drinking but he was not even close to the drunk I was. Jessica continued to giggle as she eyed one of Jacob's friends. I figured it was Quil. He was definitely her type although I was sure she would let any one of them take her into the back of the car or the forest. _Wait Bella, you're the one that enjoys the company and comfort of a mossy tree against your back as Jacob Black fucks you stupid. _Fuck my life, once more.

Once he put me down I was a little wobbly; the alcohol was getting to my legs. I looked into the cup I was holding and realized that what I was drinking definitely wasn't beer anymore; it was vodka and very little Coke. "Mike, you bastard!" I stammered into the cup realizing what he had done. He would. He definitely fucking would.

"What?" Jacob asked. I had completely forgotten he was there.

"Never mind." I said, stabling myself. Wait; were his arms around my waist? They definitely were.

"So, what's up?" He asked; his face was extremely close to mine.

"Nothing, drinking." I said as I held up my cup. Was I a fucking moron? He must think I lick windows and take the short bus. I was fucking special.

"Me too." He said with a confused look on his face. "Do you want another one?" I looked down at my cup, the vodka was gone.

"Please." I begged. I needed all the liquid encouragement I could get my hands on. This was going to be a long night.

"What are you drinking?"

"Anything." I replied.

When he came back he handed me a beer, this was a safer choice, and he pulled me closer to the bonfire to where a large group of people were dancing. I noticed Jessica had moved over to Quil and Embry and was dancing with both of them. She was feeling more motivated than usual. Oh Jessica Stanley, I love you girl.

I was dancing with Jacob and not even realizing it, that's how drunk I was. I finished the beer he had gotten me extremely quickly and held my cup up to Jacob's face.

"Whoa!" He shouted, taking the empty cup from my hand. "How much have you drunk tonight?"

"Not nearly enough." I answered, not even thinking. Filter, on please? I beg of you.

"Wait, are you alright? Is something wrong?" Jacob knew when I was drinking myself stupid, and tonight, that expression was a bit of an understatement.

"No." I lied and paused for a moment. "Yeah." No, no, no, no, no, no, code red, Bella. CODE RED. Take it back!

"Bella, tell me." His face was filled with concern now. I had to tell him. _No you don't, Bella, that is NOT A SOBER BELLA DECISION! It just seems like a good idea now, because you're hammered. _My brain, however, was disconnected from my mouth. My face grew hotter than the fire that was blazing beside me and I could feel my palms begin to sweat. It was now or never.

"I'm pregnant." His face didn't change. Was the music getting louder?

"What? Talk louder." As if it wasn't humiliating enough to say it the first time, I had to repeat it a second time.

"I'm pregnant." I said a bit louder. He still didn't fucking hear me.

"I'M PREGNANT!" I shouted. Everything seemed to go quiet. The music had stopped. Wait the music fucking stopped! My head shot up to face Jacob, whose expression was the clearest definition of shock I had ever seen. Everyone around us was silent; it was like one of those humiliating moments in a movie where you think, _'Wow, their life sucks!' _Yeah, I was that person, and my life more than sucked at that present moment.

Then, just like in a movie, the greatest thing that could ever happen to me, happened.

I fainted… I think.


	3. God's Tamagotchi Turned Demonic

My heart woke up my head like a thunderstorm;

A place where I can barely stand.

I spent winter without my air,

But now I feel it in my chest.

I'm just so sick of the scenery,

And all those hours without sex.

I get so tired of being me,

But now I'm feeling this again.

This Is War – The Dangerous Summer

Waking up in a pool of your own vomit is never fun.

Waking up in a pool of your own vomit, naked, is horrible.

Waking up in a pool of your own vomit, naked, on the floor of your baby daddy's bathroom, well that's fucking legendarily disastrous.

To say I felt like shit was a bit of an understatement. I guess devil spawn fetus – it's been promoted from demon sperm - did not appreciate the mass consumption of collective intoxicants. I lifted myself from the awkward position that I had fallen into the night before and surveyed the damage. The bathroom, well, apart from the fact it smelt like beer and vomit and that the wall behind the toilet looked like Jackson Pollock painting, was decent. Physically, however, I was not decent. My head pounded and I seriously considered that I had been drop kicked in the temple. My stomach was turning, only it wasn't a hung-over turning, it was a 'Bella Swan's vagina hates her' turning. I swear I could hear devil spawn fetus laughing its giggly, evil fetus laugh. I was going psycho; if it hadn't been confirmed up until this point, then it had.

I sat with my forehead against the tiled wall for a few moments, trying to get my world to stop spinning, until I heard a light knock at the door. I didn't say anything but the knocking persisted. "Bella, open the door." It was Jacob. The notion of genuine concern almost seeped in a gooey-like substance through the door and it was impossible for me to ignore. Without taking my head from the tiled wall I reached up and opened the door.

With Jacob came wonderful aromas and I wasn't sure if it made me nauseous or made my mouth water. Whatever the feeling was, I looked over only to see Jacob kneeling beside me with a cup of steaming black coffee and a bagel slathered in peanut butter. I felt my lips curling up into a smile. I ate slowly while Jacob remained in silence. I think he was trying to figure out the right thing to say but I wasn't sure that it was possible in the situation we were in.

"So." I said, breaking the silence and I could feel my cheeks blushing. Heart-to-Hearts were never my thing, especially after telling the entire world that I was pregnant in a drunken stupor. "Last night, that didn't go as planned. I guess."

"Well, you always somehow cause a scene." Jacob snorted. "But last night takes the cake for every stupid move you've made since you came here."

"No, not necessarily –." I began to defend myself but Jacob cut me off.

"The naked, drunk cliff diving incident doesn't trump this." Jacob smiled. "So don't even try."

"Fuck you." I said before immediately realizing that it was the wrong thing to say.

"So, speaking of that…" Jacob's voice trailed off. He was never one with the stellar ability to start a serious conversation. "Are you really?"

"Really and truly." I set the plate down after polishing off the last bit of the bagel. I swallowed hard, "I doubt several brands of pee-sticks are _all _going to be wrong."

"But I thought you were on…"

"Guess I'm in that very un-fucking-lucky 2%." I finished his sentence. He sat and pondered for a few moments before speaking again.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Jacob leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He was giving me that intense stare down that I specifically told him never to do. I didn't call him on it though; I guess I owed him one.

"There are options?" I countered. The possibility of having this thing was completely out of the fucking question. Bella Swan does not do babies; crying babies at that.

"God, Bella," Jacob put his head in his hands. He was getting frustrated now. "Of course there are. Have you not even thought of what's going to happen?" He paused for a minute and spoke again, not even letting me answer. "Wait, no, you haven't. Considering you are drinking and smoking and probably doing fucking speed. You're so fucking stupid!"

"Hey!" I shouted. How dare he? This wasn't just my fault. "I have not even _touched_ speed since new years; all thanks to you that is." I remembered this like a little Chinese boy would have remembered fucking Hiroshima. Over the course of senior year I enjoyed taking speed every now and then to loosen up my inhibitions. It wasn't terrible, I never blacked out from it and I only did in around people. It wasn't like I was _addicted_ to it or anything, but on New Years Eve Jacob caught me buying from one of the dealers who lived on the reservation. Needless to say, the dealer was given strict orders to never fucking sell anything to me anymore upon threat of Jacob bashing his head in.

"So you're saying you would take it if you could get some?" Jacob looked as if he was going to tear my head off but it didn't scare me.

"That's not the point here Jake!" I stood up, at bit wobbly, and walked over to the open window. "The point is I'm pregnant, with your baby!"

"How can I even be sure it's mine!" The moment those words came from Jacob's mouth I felt as if I were going to become the human paper shredder and destroy every bit of him. Was he accusing me of sleeping around?

"I am not Jessica fucking Stanley, Jake!" I shouted back, fists clenching at my sides. I had to be super careful to not start stomping my feet, as it usually happened when I reached this level of anger. "I can honestly say you are the only person that's ever blown their load sans condom. But thanks for thinking so highly of me." I gave him two thumbs up. I think it did more than a slap across the face would have.

Jacob sat completely still for a minute, his face twisted into a stern cross. If I didn't know any better I thought I saw a fucking tear fall down his cheek. He stammered as he spoke, "You aren't going to keep it, are you?"

"No, Jake." I spat. I was angrier now than I had been since finding out I was pregnant in the first place. "Why would I?"

"Because, Bella," Jacob stood up now and cleared the room in one step. Why are these kids so fucking big? He towered over me as he took my face in his hands. I immediately felt the love in his touch but it didn't relieve me of my rage. "We can do this."

I shook my head and on came the water works. "I can't fucking do this Jake. I just fucking can't." I cried and ran out of the bathroom, through the familiarly warm kitchen and out the front door. I didn't know where Billy was, but at this point I didn't care. I just fucking needed to get home. I ran for as long as my legs allowed. I stopped in the middle of the trail that I had known since Jake and I were kids and I would come and visit Charlie in the summers and broke down. I began sobbing uncontrollably and shaking profusely. I wanted desperately for this to be over and to be able to go on with my carefree life; graduate, have a fucking awesome summer and then go to college in Seattle. I was not ready for this responsibility nor was I ready to make a decision as big as this one. For the first time in years, I cried for my mother.

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I eventually made it to the border of the reservation and Forks and decided to call Charlie, considering he had filled my inbox with messages asking where the fuck I was. Something told me that he knew. I mean fuck, word travels fast in this town and he would know every scandal first. He was the police chief after all. I dialed the number and my ringed fingers shook as I held the phone to my ear.

"Thank God Bella!" Charlie's voice sounded relieved at the other end of the phone. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"C-c-can you pick me up, Dad, please?" I immediately broke down into erratic sobs again. I felt like the runner up to the Miss-America competition, only pregnant and twice as emotional

"Hold on, Bells. I'll be wherever you are in two minutes." I never depended on my Dad often, but I also never gave him the credit of being the most incredible fucking Dad ever. I explained where I was and in two minutes he was there, turning off the cruiser's lights and hopping out of the vehicle. He took me into a huge hug – something that he hadn't done since I was a little girl – and comforted me for a few moments.

"Jeez, Bells, you're soaked. Get into the cruiser." Charlie ushered me into the passenger seat of the cruiser and jogged back around. "Sirens? Or no sirens?"

"No sirens." Charlie probably knew that I had created enough of a scene in the past twenty-four hours than completely necessary. Thus, he turned around and headed home at a regular speed. My stomach was already beginning to turn. Dost thou devil spawn fetus insist on killingest thee? "But I think you might want to step on it unless you want demonic spew covering your dash." And with that comment I realized that my father was an excellent cop after all; 65 MPH through residential areas on wet pavement. Solid.

////////////

After arriving home I informed Charlie that I would be remaining locked up in my bedroom until I felt it necessary to come out. I also told him to check on me now and then to make sure I didn't try to kill myself. He seemed to get the gist of my anguish and let me be. So off I went to my purple chamber of death and wished upon the sun – it is a pretty big star, right? – that my blankets would drown me. I decided that I was God's Tamagotchi, one who he conveniently forgot to feed so that it ended up evil.

Nevertheless I feel asleep rather quickly considering I had spent the entire night vomiting on a cold linoleum floor. Every few hours I heard the door to my bedroom open slightly and close a few seconds later. I guess Charlie was genuinely worried; he never checked on me. Hours passed by slowly and I only realized night had fallen once the sun started coming up again. At around eight o'clock I heard Charlie rustling around in the kitchen. I found it odd considering he was usually gone by six to go fishing. I let it go because I did not want to think and tried to go back to sleep. Twenty minutes later, a slight knock came to the door but I was not in a very responsive mood. After a minute of not answering, Charlie opened the door with a plate of pancakes – one of the three meals in the world he could make – and a glass of chocolate milk.

"Bells, responsive mood or not, you have to eat." He pushed, taking a seat on the edge of my bed, holding out the plate of delicious looking pancakes. Knowing I wouldn't be able to get away with not eating I sat up and took the plate from him. It took no longer than five minutes to devour the plate of syrupy-buttery goodness. I guess I was hungry. Smiling in thanks to Charlie, I retook my spot under my covers and he left the room with a satisfied huff. It was always easy to appease him.

I guess food did me well because within five minutes I was back sound asleep.

/////////////

"Bella, baby." A song-like voice soothed my body as I rolled around in my covers. I felt a soft touch sweep across my forehead. Mom? I must have been dreaming. "Wake up." Instinctively, I opened my eyes.

Nope. Not dreaming.

There, sitting on the edge of my bed, sweeping the hair from my face was my erratic, loving mother, Renee. Her hair was shorter than it had been the last time I saw her and there were streaks of blonde throughout the curls but other than that she looked the exact same. For a moment I wondered why she was here, in Forks, a place that she would often describe as the lowest circle of Hell, but it didn't take me long to guess. She had a comforting smile on her face that suggested she wasn't here to rip my head off but at the same time a sheepish blush lit my face and I felt hot tears stinging at the corners of my eyes.

"Charlie called me." She explained. "I guess he figured I was better suited to deal with this…" She looked up and then back at me, "…situation."

_Good call Charlie._

"Yeah." My voice croaked from lack of use in the past forty-eight hours. "Probably."

"Why don't you go shower and then we'll talk." Renee suggested.


End file.
